Whereas testifying on Thursday in federal courtroom, Elon Musk appeared to point that his AI lab could have used OpenAI’s fashions to coach xAI’s personal. He touched upon the subject whereas sitting on the witness stand answering cross-examination questions from an OpenAI lawyer amid his ongoing legal battle against the ChatGPT-maker.
That is the alternate, as greatest as WIRED might seize it:
OpenAI Lawyer William Savitt: Are you aware what distillation is?
Musk: It means to make use of one AI mannequin to coach one other AI mannequin.
Savitt: Has xAI finished that with OpenAI?
Musk: Typically all of the AI corporations [do that].
Savitt: In order that’s a sure.
Musk: Partly.
Distillation is a method the place a smaller AI mannequin is educated to imitate the habits of a bigger, extra succesful mannequin, making it cheaper and quicker to run whereas preserving a lot of its efficiency.
OpenAI’s lawyer, William Savitt, then requested whether or not OpenAI’s expertise had been utilized in any solution to develop xAI.
Savitt: Has OpenAI expertise been utilized in any solution to develop xAI?
Musk: It’s normal observe to make use of different AIs to validate your AI.
OpenAI and xAI didn’t instantly reply to WIRED’s request for remark.
OpenAI has been making an attempt to forestall its opponents from distilling its AI fashions, specifically, the Chinese language AI lab DeepSeek. In a February 2026 memo to a Home committee, OpenAI wrote that it has “taken steps to guard and harden our fashions in opposition to distillation.” In that memo, OpenAI mentioned it was centered on guaranteeing a taking part in discipline through which “China can’t advance autocratic AI by appropriating and repackaging American innovation.”
The Trump administration has additionally taken steps to forestall Chinese language corporations from distilling American AI fashions. Michael Kratsios, the White Home’s director of the workplace of science and expertise coverage, mentioned in an April 2026 memo that it might share data with US AI corporations about overseas distillation. Kratsios mentioned in a post on X that the “US authorities is dedicated to the free and truthful improvement of AI applied sciences throughout a aggressive ecosystem.”
American AI labs have used one another’s AI fashions in different methods, to check progress and assess security. However in in the present day’s aggressive panorama, some AI corporations have utterly lower off rival labs. In August 2025, Anthropic blocked OpenAI’s access to its Claude coding fashions after the corporate alleged that its phrases of service had been violated. Extra just lately, Anthropic cut off xAI from using its AI models for coding as effectively.
In his multiday cross-examination of Musk, Savitt has questioned Musk about his attempts to assume control of OpenAI and, subsequently, his quest to beat the ChatGPT-maker. On Wednesday, Savitt offered emails and texts from 2017 to assist a line of questions as as to if Musk squeezed OpenAI by withholding funding and hiring away key researchers.
